Hazardous to Shipping
by UnoriginalPrankster
Summary: Tsubaki can't pluck up the courage. Again. Makoto is pushing her luck. Again. This looks like a recipe for disaster. Again. But is it?
1. No Running In The Corridor

All Characters are the property of ASW.

Another possibility…. of the Continuum Shift

Tsubaki exited the bathroom of her dorm. She a towel wrapped around her torso and her hair clipped back from when she'd showered. She also took the precaution of wearing slippers; it grew wearisome having to stop every couple of weeks to pick _another_ stray piece of glass from her foot because Noel had dropped something again. She sighed; it was a shame because the carpet was really good stuff, something she'd be quite willing to have in her own home. In spite of the morning shower, she still felt half asleep; she'd been up till late _trying_ to complete the paperwork for the monthly budgets, but after a hard day's learning and the associated homework, her brain had just given up after an hour. On top of that, she'd had a really bad night's sleep, which hardly helped her demeanour. It _almost _justified why she was the last one up. At least neither Makoto nor Noel were here at present. It meant she could prepare for the inevitable bedlam ahead in some semblance of peace, and neither of them would see her looking and feeling such a shambles.

She locked the door before sauntering over to her dresser. Tsubaki always found it more than a little creepy that Makoto took such an interest in her lingerie collection; Noel just tended to blush at the sight of a semi-naked Tsubaki, while Makoto positively leered; she almost swore she saw _sparkles_ coming from her once. Maybe Makoto was...into her. It was even odder considering Tsubaki knew Makoto _never_ wore a bra, thinking them too much of a hassle for a girl of her breast size. What Makoto thought of as stuff only to be worn on special occasions was everyday wear to Tsubaki, a quite glaring hint to their very different backgrounds and financial circumstances; Makoto's family lived on the breadline, while she was from one of the most prestigious families on the planet, so it made the tiniest bit of sense that she made a fuss over it. Nevertheless, she was loath to let anyone see her like that; it made sport kind of awkward, what with the communal showers. She could still see Mai's nose doing a passable impression of a waterfall on that one occasion, even now. Even her two roommates and best friends wouldn't get to see too much of her if she could avoid it. She had high standards to keep, after all. So right now, if Makoto or Noel had to wait a few minutes till she was decent, then tough. She quickly decided on a dark purple set, with the obligatory black stockings. In addition to her very prim and proper manner, everyone thought Tsubaki to be quite staid because she was the only girl in the whole school who wore a long skirt, and what everyone thought was tights, thus leaving the more perverted boys perpetually disappointed. Oh, if only they knew! Tsuabki was never quite sure why men and boys made such a big deal out of it. It just went to show the lack of class in most people.

She had found out last year that she'd made it into the 'World's Sexiest Women' list; not too high up, but it still resulted in Makoto teasing her more than usual; secretly she wondered if Makoto and Noel were the ones responsible for shortlisting her. She took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. She was among the prettiest girls in the school, and wasn't a complete snob about it, which made her stand out from some of the lesser nobility, who had either a point to prove, or a bigger ego than their wallets warranted. She really wished she could be more proud of her figure, and be able to show off her assets to her Mr Right. However, social conventions and her own reserved nature meant that she'd never plucked up the courage to take things further than 'just good friends' with the guy she was closest to. It inhibited her sex drive to quite a large degree too, feeling too embarrassed and unconfident to really…get to know herself, something she knew Makoto had no issues with. She was worried if this would come to haunt her in the future, when it came time to start thinking about settling down and starting a family of her own. Would a guy just... lose interest if she couldn't keep him satisfied? No, she had to stop assuming the worst in people.

Having got as far as her skirt, blouse and boots, she unlocked the door; it didn't matter if anyone saw her now. She took in the dreary blue walls; the same colour as the walls in the rest of the building. She had considered forwarding a request to get some decorators in, so all the dorms could be more inviting, less foreboding, but she also thought it would be rejected out of hand and thus be a waste of her precious time, especially as she didn't really have any these days. The place was funded by money and tradition in roughly equal measure, so change was slow to come, if it ever happened at all. While the Student Council had quite a lot of pull, her moreso being Duodecim, renovating like that required permission from outside, and it was unlikely she'd ever get it, Duodecim heir or not.

The blazer followed, with some simple jewellery next. Like most schools, the Librarium Academy had strict rules, but simple studded earrings were permissible. She let her hair down then attached her trademark hairpieces and a hairband. A quick squirt of perfume completed the ensemble. Just as she did so, the ever cheerful Makoto Nanaya walked in. The squirrel girl seemed to be in an even brighter mood than normal, judging from how she practically skipped in. "Mornin', Tsubaki" she greeted. "Good morning Makoto. Have you been to breakfast?" she enquired. "Yup, Noel's still finishing up, so she'll be a few more minutes." She walked over to the dresser and leaned against it, and quickly noticed the scent coming from Tsubaki. She smirked, "What's with the cologne, Tsubaki? Trying to get someone's attention, hmm?" Tsubaki blushed. Makoto continued with the unwanted interrogation, "Jin?" Tsubaki's eyes went wide "What? No!" she snapped. This just made Makoto burst out laughing, "You're the worst liar ever. You have your own built in lie detector; your cheeks go red every time you do. Or maybe it's just when it comes to Jin, you always lose your temper when…."

_"__Excuse me? _There is nothing between me and Jin Kisaragi, understood? We're just friends." She huffed indignantly, and went back to finishing her make up. Makoto sighed, "Pity. You two would make a real nice couple, you know. It'd put a stop to all the crap you two have to put up with from the I-Have-More-Money-Than-Manners brigade". The door opened again, "Oh, hi Jin." Tsubaki quickly turned around to see…

…Noel. "Jin!? What? Where?" she looked around, still looking like she was in her own world. She'd probably been daydreaming. Or coming up with more poetry. Tsubaki had yet to decide which was worse.

"Makoto!" Tsubaki was getting annoyed now. Makoto's long running attempts at pairing them up were wearing thin this morning, though Tsu had far too much restraint to really cut loose. Worse still, she'd knocked her perfume bottle of the dresser, which proceeded to fall elegantly and accurately onto the top of her right foot. She started hopping around the room clutching her foot, "Gah! Owowowow!" Makoto tried not to laugh, but a snigger did escape her lips. Noel just stood there, still wondering what the hell was going on.

Once she'd managed to stop hopping, Tsubaki glared.

**"****MAAAKOOOOTOOOOO!"**

That stopped her laughing. She smiled sheepishly. Tsubaki's teeth were clenched, her fists balled. The restraint was gone. Makoto thought that remaining in Tsubaki's vicinity right now sounded like a _really _dumb idea.

"Errrr, I errr, just remembered I errr, bye!" and she bolted out the door. Tsubaki limped after her.

**"****GEET BAAAACK HEEERRREEE!"**

(**A/N: It might be helpful to use Chibaki and Chikoto for some of this bit. A copy of Yackety Sax will also be useful. Failing that, Chariots of Fire will do.**)

Makoto had a fair head start on Tsubaki by now. She was a faster runner, even without Tsubaki's limp impeding her. The boy with the now empty mail trolley was just up the corridor. Lost in the moment, Makoto thought she'd at least make it entertaining for any spectators, so slid over the flat tray, "Wheeeeeeeee!" before hitting the ground running. Tsubaki had to settle for going around the side.

"Come back and accept the punishment you know you deserve!"

This brought a laugh from Makoto, who was getting further ahead. She had to check her run, to avoid some students coming out of their dorms. She turned to shout, "'Deserve'? What do you know about 'deserve'?" before setting off again.

As Makoto rounded the corner, two first years nearly collided with her. She dived over the top of them, "Don't try this at home, kids!" landed in a forward roll, and was off again. Tsubaki had to half-shuffle, half-barge past the steadily gathering crowd, "Excuse me, excuse me." She saw Makoto performing some parkour to avoid another group. She was toying with her! Tsubaki was not sure how to proceed; continue the chase, or be the better woman and stop indulging her childish antics?

_Have you forgotten already? The pain you feel is her fault! Make her pay! _

"Meep meep!" She saw Makoto disappear around the next corner. She took off in pursuit once more. Her foot was much less sore now, so she could move normally. Still, in the name of great justice, her jibes about Jin were not going to go unpunished!

**(A/N: You can stop now)**

Unfortunately, races often contain crashes. And, as Tsubaki rounded the corner, this one was no different. She ran headlong into someone, colliding with them face first. She rolled on the floor gently, clutching her nose. It was definitely bleeding, possibly broken. The noise she made was not very ladylike. More a 'wounded-animal-bellowing' sort of noise, _"Uurgh! Moy Node! Moy Node!"_ This brought laughs from the gathering crowd of boys and girls. There was something about seeing other people getting hurt like this that was somehow hilarious, and Tsubaki had made quite a few enemies in her time here, many of whom were now taking the opportunity to enjoy her misfortune.

"First I see Makoto sprinting off, then you run into me at top speed. I assume the two are related, yes?"

_Oh God. Why did it I have to run into Jin…_

Tsubaki managed to muster the will to look up. Jin was picking himself up, and looked at the pile of papers that had been spilled over the floor. He did not look happy.

"You know there are rules again running in the corridor, Tsubaki. Do you want to have 3 guesses as to why?"

_"'__Orry Jin."_

Jin finally picked up on Tsubaki's distress, "Let me see." He walked over to her and removed her hands from her face. The red smear told its own story. "Nurse's office, _now. _You two." He gestured at two juniors, "Do me a favour and clear this mess up for me, would you? Leave it in 4-32. I've gotta take care of this. I'll compensate you for your time. Thanks a lot." Then they left to fix Tsubaki up.

As if the start of the day couldn't get any worse...


	2. Surrounded by idiots

Jin stood outside the nurse's quarters while Tsubaki was being tended to. Decency dictated so; she'd had to remove her blouse and blazer so she didn't get blood all over them, and there was no way Jin was going to be allowed in the room with her despite the fact she had a hospital shirt to cover her up. Which meant he had to wait for longer than he wanted, because he had to fill in an accident report, for which he needed to speak to Tsubaki. Jin hated doing this, but it had to be done or he'd never hear the end of it. He'd already phoned the academy to let them know he had bureaucracy to handle and that he'd be late, just as he'd done with Tsu's teachers as to why she wouldn't be in class this morning. At this rate it'd be lunchtime before they arrived at the academy. Damn commuting…

Inside the sterile grey walls of the nurse's office (why they weren't blue too was anyone's guess), the nurse was in the process of applying a weak electrical ars to Tsubaki's nose; it would numb it long enough for her to work, but wear off quicker than using a local anaesthetic. She yelped a bit as the ars was applied. Once it was sufficiently numb, the nurse was able to fiddle with it a bit to determine the extent of the damage and try to get everything back in place, before using a regenerative ars to heal her up properly. She then removed the cotton-wool buds from her nostrils and gave her new ones to stop what remained of the bleeding. Once that was done and she'd redressed, Jin was let back in. Tsubaki looked really pale; maybe she'd lost more blood than Jin realised.

"Finished?" The nurse nodded, "Good. Okay, let's start from the beginning. What happened?" Jin said as he pulled a pen out of his breast pocket. Tsubaki sighed, "Makoto got in from breakfast and started winding me up as per usual."

"Why? Or do I need to ask?" Jin asked.

Tsubaki shrugged, "You've pretty much guessed it; I was just putting some perfume on. She came to the crazy conclusion that I was doing it for you." Jin sighed; he was as sick of this as Tsubaki was, "So why chase her? Seems a pretty trivial reason to try to kill her regardless of how old it's getting and how much she has it coming."

Tsu snorted at Jin's attempts at humour, then winced at the pain it caused, "I suppose it does…anyway, the bedroom door opens, she says it's you, it's really Noel, I drop the perfume bottle on my foot, I chase her…. yes, definitely sounds stupid now."

"If I may," the nurse said, "being as you're already here, can I take a look at your foot? Just to be sure. I've known that sort of thing to break bones in the past."

"Sure, be my guest."

Tsubaki removed her boot so the nurse could do the examination. Meanwhile, Jin continued with his report, and while he'd rather not, Tsubaki would still have to face some sort of punishment for disregarding school rules, particularly as an accident occurred as a result. The fact that she was a council member, and thus supposed to set an example made it even more necessary. He'd talk to Makoto to get her side of the story later. Once everything was done, she was discharged with some painkillers and allowed to head off to the academy. Thankfully, they'd finished sooner than Jin feared. They might make it by 11.

* * *

Makoto was getting worried. She'd kind of understand if Tsubaki was ignoring her for the remarks earlier, but the fact that she hadn't shown up for either of their first 2 lessons was definitely not in Tsubaki's nature. She match-walked out the room as the bell rang, and nearly walked straight into Jin.

"In here. _Now_." he gestured to the disused classroom across the dull blue corridor. Makoto was never exactly sure why they chose blue as the overriding colour here; she knew about the blue uniforms that NOL regulars wore, and the organisation motto made reference to 'The Blue Flame', but why blue was so important escaped her. However, the way Jin was walking put an end to her philosophical ponderings; it wasn't quite stomping, be you could tell he was pissed about something. And one thing was almost guaranteed to set him off…

Makoto's ears flattened as she realised; Something _had_ happened to Tsubaki, and it was her fault. Dammit.

He about-faced to look at her. The glare was pretty intense, even by Jin's standards, "I bumped into Tsubaki earlier this morning. According to her she was chasing you after another one of your stupid antics backfired. Do I sense something of a recurring theme here, Makoto? Because it seems like everytime you try to push your stupid little fantasies on us, one or both of us is always left picking up the pieces!" He took a deep breath. His voice calmed a little. "I've heard her side of the story," he produced his clipboard, "Let's hear yours."

Makoto was slow to answer. "Yeah. I came in from breakfast while Tsu was getting ready. I thought she was making more of an effort in her appearance than usual."

"So? What's so special about that? You know she always puts great stock in her personal appearance."

"But Cologne? I thought she was trying to catch someone's eye." The look she gave Jin was pretty clear on who the 'someone' was. "She went all defensive as per usual. Long story short, she dropped said cologne bottle on her foot and went ape. I ran off coz I really didn't wanna get stuck in a headlock while she read the riot act."

"And look what happened next. She runs into me and ends up with a broken nose. Great plan."

"What? Oh god...I thought she'd just given up."

"Relax. She's okay, she's back on campus so it's not like it's anything really serious, but still, your fixation on trying to get us together indirectly caused this. I've had to spend most of the morning performing a juggling act trying to keep everyone informed as to what's going on so no-one thinks we're both playing truant, not to mention filing out all the extra paperwork."

"Yeah, and we all know which bit pisses you off the most", she muttered.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that last remark. Just so you know, I _did_ see you run past me a few seconds before it happened, so that's at least 'Running In The Corridor' on your rap sheet. I've put Tsubaki on punishment detail for this, so it's only fair you get it too. It might give you some time to think about this and try to make things right. As the more guilty party, you get extra time. Anything else to say?" Makoto was silent. He turned around and stormed off.

Much as Makoto hated to admit it, Jin was right; she did have some explaining to do. Why did trying to do the right thing always end in disaster where she was concerned? Still she was nothing if not persistent. She had to be. _Just another stumbling block,_ Makoto thought, though maybe she was just trying to convince herself it was just that...

* * *

Tsubaki was already in the chemistry lab when Noel walked in, Cajun right behind her. Noel's concern was evident, "You ok?"

"Do I look okay to you?" Tsubaki said in a tired voice. She popped another pill in her mouth and chugged another mouthful from her water bottle, "Sorry, I'm just feeling totally lousy right now. I didn't get any sleep after being up till stupid o'clock, and now this. Let's just get on with this, alright?" Tsubaki usually worked with Noel and Cajun in this class, which was always a recipe for disaster; Noel was as dangerous with chemicals as she was with cookery, and Cajun wasn't quite good enough to offset the gargantuan amounts of negative karma that Noel seemed to carry; the rather unusual green coloured stain on the ceiling above their usual workstation was all the evidence anyone needed as to the calibre of chemist working there. The grounds staff had been completely flummoxed as to how to remove it.

Tsubaki herself understood the theory just fine, but putting it into practice on the bench was an art form she'd yet to grasp; what she got was decent stuff, but there was never enough of it; Cajun usually got the better results.

"Ah, it seems that the chase this morning has left the lady Yayoi rather vexed", now it was Cajun's turn to be The Gadfly, "Or maybe it's that time of month… no, can't be. Yours is…"

Tsubaki planted her head in the desk. This was already getting really wearisome "It is _not_ that, alright? Can you _please_ change the subject?"

"Why certainly. Consider this line of conversation terminated." Cajun said brightly.

"_Thank you so much. You deserve a public service commendation._"

"Hmmph. My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty."

Tsu looked up and groaned, "I'm sorry Cajun, I'm just really worn out right now"

"So you've already said. I'll get you some of my sleeping tablets this evening if you think they'll be any help."

"I appreciate it. Thanks." _Mmmmm, cold table._

Today's practical concerned nitration reactions; nitrates were often used in explosives, so knowing how the explosives were made was considered an integral part of the curriculum. Trinitrotoluene was one of the easier explosives to handle, so was the go-to for practical synthesis for people learning the ropes. Tsubaki was slightly relieved at this; it meant Noel's klutziness was less likely to kill them all. Nevertheless, the fume cupboards all had metal blast shields just in case it looks like it was going to blow; Tsubaki would have preferred doing this by remote, but it had been years since the labs had been renovated; one would think the Academy would only have the best, but in reality they were bigger misers than Scrooge, so old fume cupboards it was. The shields wouldn't help much, in all likelihood, but it was the thought that counted.

Tsubaki often considered what practical use this would serve in the field. Doing something like this required quite elaborate set ups that was purely for large scale industry, not something that could be mixed together in situ. The girls had seen several classic TV shows, MacGuyver and The A-Team standing out, where coming up with implausible plot devices was the main appeal of the show. Sometimes it seemed the real world wanted to run on the same principles. Tsubaki wasn't convinced; as it was not Romantic Fiction, her Suspension Of Disbelief had not triggered, so it just seemed completely implausible to her.

"Careful, Noel."

Cajun's raised voice brought her out of her thoughts. Noel was raising the temperature of the water bath; it needed a higher temperature for the reaction to work, though naturally this meant it was more likely to go horribly wrong. It soon became pretty clear that something was wrong. Tsubaki quickly slammed down the blast shield

"Everyone Down!"

What happened was…. an anticlimax, to say the least. The reaction vessel was shattered, but other than that, there was no damage, despite the mass of smoke implying otherwise. Maybe they should serve students this stuff next time Noel was on cookery duty, Tsubaki thought; it would probably taste better and be healthier than her actual food. Poor Noel looked so downcast, like it was further proof of her all round academic failure and how useless she saw herself. She had improved since they'd first met, but she still let people walk all over her, and her self-worth was still in the toilet. "I'm sorry, guys", she muttered.

"Don't worry about it, nobody was hurt right?" Cajun answered. Tsubaki suddenly felt a little embarrassed for overreacting so much, "Everyone okay? Good", she didn't really need or want anyone to answer that. Oh well…


	3. Heart To Heart: Redux

Having escaped the smoke, fire and brimstone of the lab, Tsubaki headed for her maths lesson. That meant Makoto would be there. She'd had some time to cool off, so now was as good a time as any to clear the air.

She was the very first to arrive, not surprisingly. She often got there a couple of minutes before the rest of the class. A side effect of being a borderline obsessively organised person. Makoto was 6th to arrive, shuffling to her seat next to her. She was clearly not enjoying this part.

_And how right she shouldn't!_

It was several long seconds before either of them deigned to speak.

"I'm sorry, Tsubaki"

Tsubaki blinked a few times, waiting to see if Makoto had anything more to add. She didn't, like she was at a loss for words. Unusual for her.

"Tell me why, Makoto. Why are you so hell bent on playing matchmaker for me and Jin? It's pretty clear to me that Jin isn't interested in me. Don't you think he would have given any hints that he wanted it to be more than 'just friends'?" She buried her head in her hands, "Even the promise we made as children, something I still hold dear, is only worthy of snide remarks now." Tsubaki struggled with what to say next, "Maybe this will make you see how annoying and hurtful we both find it. So please, _just stop_."

Makoto looked up, "Tell me, Tsubaki. Honestly, do you even_ want_ to get a boyfriend, get married, have kids? Coz it seems to me like you're just trying to avoid the subject. And don't say it's because it's expected of you to be this acme of nobility bullshit you always spout at times like this. Don't you _ever_ think about what _you_ want out of your life, instead of what some nobodies who probably couldn't care less about you want? Live for christ's sake! I'm trying to get you to take a chance, seize the day, and make yourself happy, coz I sure as hell ain't been seeing much cheer from you recently. And all I'm getting is lame ass excuses about why you can't bring yourself to do it. To answer your question, how do you know he isn't giving hints? I know _moles_ who can see the obvious better than you can. Don't you trust me? Do you really think I'd lie to you or get cheap laughs out of something this close to your heart?" Tsubaki just looked embarrassed, "You want me to stop, fine, but don't come crying to me when you're laying alone in bed at night coz your one true love has just got laid by someone else you don't like, ie most of the girls in this academy. Deal?"

Tsubaki wasn't sure how to respond, "You may not have had much, but at least you had a large family, companionship…love. All sorts of things money can't buy. All sorts of things I never had when I was growing up. Father was always...too busy playing politics with the other families to have much time for me. You know I'm an only child, and none of my extended family is my age either. Jin's one of the few things from that life that I have anything like fond memories of, if you could even call it a life instead of..." She flung her hands in exasperation, "...I don't know, a duty, an obligation. Pushed to meet impossible standards. Do you know what it's like to have that fear of failure hang over you every waking minute of every day?" Makoto always thought Tsubaki was really proud of her heritage. Clearly she was more conflicted than she let on. Why didn't she say anything until now? Why didn't she trust her and Noel with that? She went on, "He was probably the only friend I had. If I do go for it, and it all goes wrong, where does that leave him? Another part of my childhood too painful for me to want to remember? Where does that leave me in his eyes? Yet more proof that humans aren't worth his time? That ultimately I'm no different from any other shallow hussy trying to bed him? He's already antisocial enough as it is. I don't know if I can do that to him, Makoto….or to myself. I also know you often get the wrong idea quite often, so it's not that I don't trust you. I just think you're reading him wrong."

"So it's fear, is it? 'Fear of failure' you said?" Makoto instantly knew she'd hit the nail clean on the head, "And what if it's the opposite? What if it turns out to be the best decision you've ever made? You'll be kicking yourself that you didn't do it sooner. And if you didn't you'd regret it for the rest of your life while stuck in some...loveless arranged political marriage. And do you really think that lowly of him that he'd bear a grudge against you if things didn't work out? Seriously Tsu, how many times have you two argued, and then talked like nothing happened the very next day? You're just about the only person in the world he actually gives a damn about, snide comments and all. Have a little faith, in him and yourself." She leaned in closer, "Listen to me, "Nobody ever fell in love without being a little bit brave"."

"And I know you've stolen that saying from somewhere, but I can't think where right now." Tsubaki sighed. She seemed to be doing a lot of that today, "We've both spoke our minds, let's just leave it at that." Makoto nodded. Maybe they'd both articulate themselves better when they'd both had time to think. Maybe they'd argued enough and continuing this later was counter-productive. It seemed to be favouring the latter course.

"Oh, I've found out our PD; you're on kitchen duty for the next two weeks starting Monday. I've got three." Makoto said.

"Wonderful. Because I really need to practice flipping pancakes. And burgers…"

The lesson itself passed uneventfully; today's topic was Integration, and Makoto quickly went into 'no-one-home' mode, as was her want. Well, uneventfully till mention was made of the Graduation Ball at the end of the year. Jin was due to leave, so he'd be expected to attend, and it was expected that leavers bring a guest for the evening, preferably of the opposite gender; the academy, while not _that_ against same sex guests, did prefer males to bring females and vice versa. It was that 'Tradition' again.

_Tradition? Pfft, shit it. _Makoto thought.

* * *

Lunchtime. It was the first time the five would get together today. Tsubaki and Makoto arrived first, though both stayed silent and tried to sit as far away from each other as politeness allowed. Neither wanted to give the other an excuse to start with the psychoanalysis again.

"Well, what have we here? Trappist monks?" Makoto flipped a v at Cajun, while Tsubaki just rolled her eyes. Cajun, Noel and Mai sat down. Noel was first to speak, "Are you two still not talking?"

Makoto gave a lobsided smile, "Nah, we've said our peace. Any idea what's on the menu?"

Mai tried to recall, "Errr...I think it's a choice of sushi, burgers" Tsubaki snorted at the memory of 'flipping burgers', "burrito or curry ."

"Hmmmm, think I'll go for the curry."

Cajun raised her eyebrows, "Curry? You have heard of 'Dehli Belly' haven't you?"

"Yes, and I don't care. I want curry. Preferably a really hot one." She looked kind of smug.

Cajun shrugged, "Well at least Noel didn't cook it."

"Yeah at least I di-HEY!"

Everyone burst out laughing. Even Tsubaki managed a chuckle. Cajun got out an imaginary fishing rod and started reeling in while Noel was trying to manhandle her into stopping.

Mai was first to recover, "I thought it was banned under the Geneva Convention."

"And under that old US thing under 'Cruel and Unusual Punishment'". Cajun added.

"Hey! Why is everyone picking on me?" Noel was quite indignant.

Despite the unfolding bedlam, Makoto had tuned it out. She was too lost in thought, and besides had heard it all a million times before.

_Tsubaki, when was the last time you really laughed? Let everything out? I know you don't like me right now, and I don't blame you, but you gotta stop going through this self-deprivation just because it's not in some assshole's grand design. I've seen you when you've just gone with your own flow. I wanna see that Tsubaki again. The one who makes an ass of herself in karaoke. The one who unscrewed Ai's chair coz she was being a bitch again. The one not afraid to take a chance. __In fact, it's high time you came up with a grand design of your own._

By the time she finished, Cajun was counting on her fingers, "So that's one curry, one burrito, two burgers...what about you Tsu?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm not hungry."

"Tsubaki, you didn't have any breakfast." Noel was quick to point out.

"Okay fine, sushi for me." Tsubaki snapped. Cajun went off to make the order.

Makoto was not going to give up on those two that easily; she doubted even Tsubaki knew what really made herself happy, being too concerned with duty and obligation, and she deserved to at least try to find out. While the altercation this morning had made her think twice about continuing with this, her desire to see her best friend smile overrode her reservations. It would almost certainly make Noel smile too.

The ball was a big social event; a number of political and military bigwigs would be there. Some to scout out promising potential recruits they could snap them up before everyone else got a foot in the door, others just for the copious amounts of fine food and alcohol on offer. If Makoto could get them seen together on such an occasion, that would seal the deal.

So she quickly hatched another plan to get this reluctant couple-in-denial together. But it would involve playing chicken with a rather dangerous beast indeed. However, she was beginning to run out of options.

It was a beast that Makoto had seldom seen, and what she'd sensed from it was enough to give even her second thoughts. The looks on other girl's faces were testament to that. But she knew enough about it to try to manipulate it to her advantage. She knew what the best bait was, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get it to show its face. She really didn't want to resort to doing this to them, but the ends justified the means. It was time to summon the great green-eyed monster…

…Tsubaki's jealousy.


	4. Mine! Mine! Mine!

"So, you gonna do it?"

"I don't know Makoto, okay?"

"Why not? It seems pretty clear cut to me. You ask him if you could to be his companion for the night, job done. He's not likely to say "no", is he? It could just be two old friends from well-to-do families at a nice, pleasant social event."

Tsubaki had a definite feeling of deja-vu. Another evenning, another attempt. Makoto would not let this drop, even after the mishap last week. To Makoto, it seemed like there was an even better chance than normal to make it work, and she was going to push it for all it was worth. Even if the plan required manipulating Tsubaki to get her to do what Makoto wanted.

"What if I lose my nerve, huh? I've known him for years, and still can barely talk to him like that without tripping over myself." She looked downcast, "You've seen it happen. I don't know if I can do it."

So much for softly-softly. It was time to go all-in.

"Okay, if you don't ask him, I will!"

That got a response. Tsubaki raised her head and glared. The green-eyed monster had reared its head. Excellent!

"No. I'll do it…_ (How dare you! Jin's all mine)_."

"You better hurry then", Makoto started for the door, "coz I ain't waiting any longer" and walked out.

_Get back here, you bitch!_… _whoa, what the hell was that? _Tsubaki was horrified at even thinking such things._ I'd better get moving. Hopefully I can find him before she does. _She followed her out.

Makoto, from her hiding place, watched her leave and chuckled._ Bingo. One down, one to go…_

* * *

Jin was walking down to the council room; he received a message saying someone needed a quick word. He hated these anonymous messages. He was a very busy man, and not knowing names made recalling the details of a specific project all the more difficult. He didn't even know why he was bothering to answer at all. He pushed these thoughts aside as he entered.

"There you are. I was beginning to wonder if you were gonna show up." Makoto.

Jin looked perplexed; he could've swore he had Makoto's number saved. He double checked…it clearly wasn't Makoto's number.

"You do realise that stealing is a crime, yes? I thought even grade schoolers knew that."

"Yes, and just so you know that phone is safely back with its owner." She had to pickpocket another student for their phone to send that message and return it, otherwise he would guess something was up if he knew it was her, and she needed to know where he was so Tsubaki didn't find him first. Still, she thought she had the Tsubaki situation under control.

Jin folded his arms, "It's still using their credit though. Well? Out with it."

_Here goes nothing_, "Jin, who are you taking to the Grad Ball?"

"No one; I'm not going."

Makoto's jaw dropped a little, "You _what?_ Why wouldn't you go? You're the Council president for crying out loud, not to mention the most eligible batchelor in the school. Everyone expects to see you there. Don't you think they'll start asking questions if they don't?" This could ruin the whole plan!

"Why would I attend a function I have no real reason to go to? It's just making nice with a lot of people I really don't like and never want to see again. Besides who would I go…. Ah, so this is what you're planning, Nanaya." He laughed, though it lacked humour.

Makoto smiled innocently, "I don't know what you mean."

"Tsubaki, of course. You're suggesting I take her, aren't you?"

Makoto playfully twiddled her thumbs, "Maybe."

"How many times are you going to keep doing this? While I am grateful you didn't have to resort to grievous bodily harm this time, I am surprised you'd have the audacity, the bare faced cheek, to try this again after what happened previously." Jin wasn't going to let her forget that.

"Well, I've heard that Tsubaki's looking for you right now." Makoto was going to have to tell some half truths to get this to work, "We were talking about the ball, and she said she would really like to go. She mentioned you and how she wished you'd ask her to go with you." She chuckled, "You should've seen her."

"You're lying." Jin was being a little more trouble than anticipated. Makoto couldn't afford to lose her patience here, "No, it's true. When I mentioned the possibilty of you possibly accompanying other girls, she actually got quite upset about it. She really wants this, Jin."

Jin was starting to get quite annoyed at Makoto's pushiness. Part of him just wanted her to go away and stop bothering him; he had too much to do as it was, and the more time he wasted here was time he'd have to spend later writing that long overdue formal letter of complaint to Hideaki telling him to cut it out with the drum solo music after lights out. The music he thought no one else could hear. Well, Jin could hear it. And he thought it was utter shite.

But another part of him said, _You want her to leave you alone? Just say yes. Even if you stand Tsubaki up, it'll get Dumb and Dumber out your hair for a while at least. Hell, you might actually _**_enjoy_**_ it. A classic win-win situation. Either way, stop being such a weiner!_

"Gah, fine!"

"Oh come on, what are you...what? Really?"

_I think I just broke Makoto. _"If it'll get me some peace and quiet for more than two consecutive days, I can put up with Tsubaki for an evening."

Makoto let go of the breath she'd been holding, "Finally! That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Don't push it, Nanaya."

Makoto was suddenly in Jin's face, "Look Jin, this is for Tsubaki as much as it is for you. I know she's pretty much the only girl in this school you can tolerate for a night like this, but I want to be absolutely clear; if you hurt her, it's going to cost you more than your ass is worth. Understood?"

"And what, pray, are you going to do about it?" Jin retorted

"We both know I'm naturally stronger and faster than you, so I'd say the odds are good I could kick your ass seven ways to Sunday before you got a chance to fight back. And trust me, _I have no reservations about doing just that!_"

"I'm positively quaking in my boots at the prospect." Jin deadpanned, before he turned and left.

"Good to see we understand each other. A pleasure doing business with you." Makoto got out her phone and typed a message: _J is code green._

* * *

"Hey Tsubaki!"

Tsubaki was match-walking through the corridors when she heard Noel. She'd been searching fruitlessly for Jin for at least a half an hour. Of all the times…

"Hey Noel. Have you seen Jin, by any chance?"

Noel shook her head, "Sorry, no. Why?"

Tsubaki couldn't tell Noel what was going on. Not yet, anyway, "Just need to hand in the preliminary booking lists for the Grad Ball. He figured he may as well make a start on arranging seating, catering, and whatnot."

"Oh." Noel looked upset at the revelation "I can't think of were he could possibly be…maybe…" a ringing sound interrupted her, she took out her phone and looked at the text, "Oh no! Sorry Tsubaki, I'vegottagoforgotsomethingIthinkmakotosaidhewasinthecouncilroombye!"

"Blast! I'll never find him at this rate!" Tsubaki stalked off. _Wait, Noel said the council room. Seems like as good a place as any...she also said Makoto. So she's in on it too. Grrr..._

Meanwhile, Noel sent a message, _Acknowledged. T is on her way._ She didn't like lying to Tsubaki, but if Makoto's scheme worked it would be worth it, and delaying her to give Makoto time to talk to Jin was all part of the plan. As it turned out she didn't need to do much, but it couldn't hurt. Makoto had finished that part, now it was all up to Tsubaki and Jin…

* * *

"Tsubaki…"

She been wandering the corridors for another five minutes without result, and had let her mind wander when Jin's voice got her attention.

"Jin! I-I-I was just looking for you!"

"Strange as it may sound, same here."

"Huh?" Tsubaki couldn't think of why Jin would be looking for her. Had she forgotten to hand in the advertising poster proposals? No, she remembered handing those in yesterday. "Why do you need to see me?"

Jin couldn't just out and say it; he'd lost his nerve. It just didn't feel right. Tsubaki was faring no better. As per usual it ended up in several minutes of small talk about classes, council business and other such meaningless drivel. Both were feeling pretty unhappy with once again not being able to express themselves to each other. The phrase 'Broken Record' would be entirely appropriate.

Thankfully, the conversation eventually came to the Ball. After discussing some minor organisation details, Tsubaki felt she had to at least try, _It's either that or let Makoto get him, and I'll be damned if that's going to happen._ "So Jin. Errmm…are you…do you…have you asked….anyone to accompany you? To the ball I mean." Just as she's feared, she'd found 5 different ways of saying what she'd wanted trying to leave her mouth at the same time, and just sounded stupid. She really thought she'd blew it.

Jin sighed; this was proving to be the most awkward thing he'd ever done, "Tsubaki…how would you….errm…dammit it sounded so much easier in my head. Would you…care…like…to be… my… guestfortheball?" Jin had started tripping over his tongue too.

Tsubaki gave a nervous laugh, "Of course! I'd be honoured." That part came a lot easier, maybe because the difficult part was out of the way. Jin gave a wan smile at her reply, "The way Makoto was going on about it…"

"Makoto? You've seen her?" Tsubaki's eyes narrowed slightly "She said she was going to ask you to take _her._"

"She said to me that you were very keen on the idea of me taking you…" Jin paused, then laughed "I think she's just played both of us for idiots."

"Seems that way, _right Makoto!_"

_Wha!? How the hell did she hear us?_

Jin joined in, "We know you and Noel have been listening in. Your stealth really needs some work, you know."

Tsubaki stared at the floor for a moment, suddenly feeling like she was performing some farcical play in front of a huge audience, "The truth is Jin….I've wanted… been feeling…oh, I can't find the words to say it." A nervous laugh followed.

"You don't need to say anything", Jin's smile was a lot warmer than usual, "I think I get what you're trying to tell me. Truth be told, I wasn't sure if I felt that way too, if I wanted to do… something like this, but I figured it was worth a shot finding out. We'll see what happens."

Tsubaki smiled, and whispered "Thank you, Jin" and she leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek, blushing all the while, before departing. Jin held his hand up to the kiss, and smiled. It looked like things were going to get interesting. And after the past few weeks, he could use the variety.

Makoto and Noel watched it all unfold. Noel gave her friend a large grin, and the two bumped fists. Job done!

* * *

Tsubaki walked the corridors to her room with a quiet grace. From the outside, anyone looking at her would see her as the acme of calm and serenity, unbothered by the world.

Inside, however, they'd see a lot of very excited Chibaki's running around, throwing confetti, screaming like teenaged girls at a boyband concert, playing a lot of musical instruments very loudly, and generally behaving like a little girl having a sugar rush who'd been told she'd just been crowned queen of a fairytale kingdom. Tsubaki, however, would not entertain such thoughts in public. She had a reputation to uphold, and uphold it she would.

She walked inside her dorm and closed the door. Makoto and Noel had not got back yet. Good. She wouldn't try to keep it in anymore. It was time to let the inner genki girl out to play.

She started bouncing around the room, "YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! HE ASKED ME! YES! HAHAHA!" She leapt on her bed, using it as an impromptu trampoline, screaming like aforementioned teenaged girls before forward somersaulting onto her back, kicking her legs. She picked up one of her teddies and threw him in the air several times before spinning it around in some sort of mad dance. After the euphoria had subsided she just lying there, enjoying the feeling. She'd finally plucked up the courage to tell him how she felt, and now Cinderella was going to the ball.

She sat up, and immediately felt really silly when she saw Noel and Makoto, in the doorway, blinking.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Tsubaki Yayoi?" Noel asked

"He said yes! He'd let me be his date for the night! I can't believe it!" Tsubaki didn't bother to contain her joy. Despite the fact that she knew they'd heard the whole thing, she repeated it anyway.

"Finally! It's about time!" Makoto exclaimed.

"Tell me something," Tsubaki got to her feet, "You never intended to accompany Jin, did you? You just did it to get me to ask him."

"That obvious, was it?" Makoto smirked. "And sorry I had to lie to you and all."

"Why?" Why go to all the trouble?"

"Because I've seen the look in your eyes when other girls eye him up. It seemed like the best way to motivate you to actually get you off your ass and do something about it. You can thank me another time." She winked "Nice hang time, by the way. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Well, it worked, didn't it? Tsubaki's officially going on a date with Jin" Noel added with a grin, which subsided, "...why won't anyone ever ask me on a date?"

"Which brings me to you two", Tsubaki started to pace the room, "As far as I know, Makoto has no companion, and you've just said you haven't got a date for the night. Are you even planning on going?"

"Well…not really." Noel mumbled, "I don't know anyone who would take me. It sounds like so much fun too..."

"I'll take you."

"Wha!?" Noel turned to look at Makoto following her outburst, "You…you mean…"

"Oh relax, I just think this party's gonna be too good to miss too, so if I have to take my best friend as my 'date', then so what? It's not like we're _going out_ or anything." Which didn't make Noel feel any more comfortable, given she'd heard the vicious rumours about Makoto's…. sexual preferences. She always thought Makoto's kissing the rest of the group was just her idea of a joke; even that time in the shower was nothing more than horseplay. Makoto giggled at Noel's obvious discomfort.

"But what about dresses?" Noel was quick to get back on topic, "I don't have anything that really works, and I know you can't afford one either, so what do we do?"

"Actually, I think I can help", Tsubaki spoke up, "I'll be needing to talk to my family's tailor regarding an outfit for the evening. I can always ask if he'd make something for you two."

"You'd do that?" Noel asked

"Of course. Anything for my friends." With that, the three shared a group hug.

"Yeah, friends" Makoto whispered.

"Sorry, are we interrupting anything?" Mai's voice

She and Cajun stood outside, wondering what they'd missed.

"Oh, we've just decided we're all going to the grad ball", Noel told them.

Cajun grinned and spoke up, "So are we."

"Really?" Tsubaki asked, "Who are the lucky guys?"

"None, we're taking each other" Cajun replied, "Taro can't go, and I'll be damned if I have to spend an entire evening with Captain David Cop-a-feel."

"Kagura" Mai explained, though everyone knew who Cajun meant the first time, though why Cajun chose to base the punny name on _that _particular literary character was anyone's guess. "So yeah…" she giggled.

"Hehe, it's been a while since we all had a girl's night out." Makoto grinned

"Try not to get _too_ drunk this time, darling." Cajun in a faux posh accent, before she giggled too. She remembered only too well what happened last time; Makoto was the most drunk out of them all, spending half the night trying to chat up Tsubaki, who got more weirded out as the night went on, before switching her attention to Noel, who seemed to be a little more receptive; Noel and Mai were both very merry after 2 rounds of drinks, and they all saw a different side to Noel; she could really let her hair down and party when she'd had a few. Such a shame she needed Cajun to help her walk in a straight line by the end. _Pfft, lightweights, _thought Cajun_._

"I hope not to see a repeat performance of _that_, thank you so very much", Tsubaki admonished Makoto, who just laughed. "Yeah, sorry mom."

It was already looking like an interesting night.


End file.
